Abellio invests in 80 new Wrightbus zero-emission buses

November 23 2023

Abellio London is delighted to continue our partnership with Wrightbus to bring 80 new fully EV, zero-emission buses to our London routes. This takes our orders of the state-of-the-art StreetDeck Electroliners to over 100 - a significant landmark in our investment into an EV fleet and infrastructure and a mark of our commitment to Vision Zero.

This significant investment in these innovative new vehicles will see a mixture of 56 Streetdeck Electroliner and 24 Kite Electroliner buses join our EV fleet across our six London depots. Each bus is designed with customer comfort in mind, with high back seats throughout, making longer journeys more comfortable. Priority seats are highlighted, and our buses feature a larger wheelchair and buggy area designed to make bus travel more
accessible. High-resolution digital signage on board the buses shares a range of real-time information.

The new-look 2024 Kites come with a number of safety features in line with Transport for London’s bus safety standards, including front and nearside blind spot warnings, a tyre pressure monitoring system, an automated emergency braking system, and a dynamic stability test.

These new buses will decarbonise a further 3 million miles each year, deliver tens of millions of zero-emission customer journeys, and support industry across the UK.

Jon Eardley, Managing Director of Abellio, said:

“Abellio sits at the forefront of EV bus technology in London, leading the way with the introduction of zero-emission buses across our six London depots. We proudly support Transport for London and the Mayor of London’s goals to decarbonise London’s streets.

Abellio’s investment in a state-of-the-art EV fleet and comprehensive infrastructure has already provided millions of customers with comfortable, cleaner, and greener journeys. We are very excited about the future as we energise all six of our London depots and work in partnership with Wrightbus to serve our customers with innovative zero-emission journeys.”

Jean-Marc Gales, CEO at Wrightbus, said:

"We are delighted to continue our partnership with Abellio to further demonstrate their commitment to offering even more zero-emission public transport in London. It has been a real team effort between Wrightbus and Abellio to deliver these orders, which will help customers enjoy cleaner transport.

We’re immensely proud of the reputation we have forged in the zero-emission transport sector and the important role we are playing in the UK’s ambitions for decarbonisation. All of the buses will be manufactured and assembled at our Ballymena factory, which means support for jobs in Northern Ireland, and wider across the UK through our domestic supply chain.”